In-your-face advertising is predominant today with the big name companies, meaning the ones that can afford it. TV ads, media print, billboards, online marketing, they are everywhere. Many of them don’t have much choice as they are in very competitive markets.
www.reuters.com
But one, Amazon is quite opposite and still very successful. One of the most surprising things is the fact that Amazon does not do much advertising, in fact it is their company policy not to. Instead of spending money on the costly TV ads like they used to do few years ago, Amazon invested it internally. They started offering free shipping and improved their customer relationship management.
Amazon takes advantage of other parts of promotional mix more, like PR and sales promotion. For instance, Amazon does point-of-purchase displays by providing a list of accessories or related products following an addition of an item to shopping cart, making it more convenient for their customers. Amazon also has active Facebook and Twitter accounts that are used both for public relations by interacting and building trust with their customers and sales promotions. Furthermore, Amazon offers deals like free shipping, e-book sampling and has a loyalty program, Amazon Prime.
Amazon is now the world’s largest online retailer and their approach to promotion is definitely working for them. It appeals to their target markets and it is just one additional thing that differentiates them from their main competitors.
Recently I came across a blog post by Dawn Merchand called “Google’s Interest-Based Advertising – Relevant or Invasive?” (canadianmarketingblog.com), which is an interesting post about how Google uses interest-based marketing to personalize online ads. The key is using person’s browsing history and cookies, collecting information about them and selecting the most relevant advertising.
www.clickz.com
The question asked was is it “Invasion or awesome?” , and I have to go with awesome. Although as pointed out in the post there are issues with the lack of privacy as person’s every step is recorded, from marketing perspective this is the most effective way for companies to reach their target market.Potential customers see these ads as something that ads value to them and not as spam because they are related to their interest. For instance on my Facebook page the ads featured are related to my school and photography. Both of those things are something I am passionate about and therefore hold interest in, so I actually look at them instead of just ignoring that side of the page. From the company perspective, interest-based marketing saves resources, increases brand awareness, and ultimately offers a higher ROI by helping companies understand their target market better and invest their resources more efficiently.
www.visionwiz.net
Click on the photo to enlarge
Also, an interesting fact is that interest-based marketing can help a company re-target users who have left company’s website without purchase by using personalized ads to re-capture them. For instance if the customer abandoned the shopping cart, they can offer coupons or special deals to provide an incentive for purchase. Personalization is a way to go in today’s market.
Creative and unique advertising is a key in order to stand out and capture the interest of potential consumers. Today, there are so many different ads on the TV, internet and print media that create enormous amounts of noise, and as most of them are very expensive it is important to utilize that investment in the most efficient way. I came acorss these ads that are not your typical advertisements and serve as an ideal example of how it should be done.
1. Thinking about buying a new watch? Why not just try them during your morning commute to work?This ad allows for easy observability and trialability of the product. Moreover, it simply is fun, and even for those who are not interested in purchasing a watch at this particular time, it allows for the increase of brand awarness by the positive word of mouth, as people are likely to talk about this innovative ad.
2. Eesti post, an Estonian postal service created this ad to promote its new product that allows people to create their own stamp. It is effective primarily because the key is the customer involvement as they are the ones who have the power over the design of their stamp, and this ad further enforces that message. The picture of your every day surroundings can be your personalized stamp!
3. “Look up. Look up again. ohh cool!” would have been my reaction to this ad if I had seen it on the street as its nothing like I have seen before. It captures an immediate attention and creates interest, potentially desire as well. Also, it increases association of sharp knives with this particular knife-making company.
In today’s class we watched the video on supply chain management in floral industry, and I immediately recalled several documentaries I watched on the exploitation of workers in developing countries for roses and diamonds. The rise of floral industry in South American countries has been beneficial for the local economy but not by much as it may appear. Some refer to the product as ‘blood roses’ similar to ‘blood diamonds’. The inexpensive labor and lack of employment laws and regulations has led to massive exploitation of workers who have no choice but to work. They are payed $7-8 a day, work over 12 hours and are exposed to health threatening chemicals.
Something like this affects public image of a company, it can completely ruin the perception customers have and decrease in sales is inevitable. Building a brand is difficult, but having to rebuild it even more so, as bad press can ruin the company. In past, companies were able to get away with this kind of behaviour, but fortunately today with the internet accessibility, and the use of social media information spreads fast. Naturally, customers don’t want to be associated with the negative image company has and simply replace it with another product provider that is known for its responsible and ethical practices. This is true for consumers that actually care and are knowledgeable about the issue, but it the growing trend of green movement and the ethical and social responsibility indicates that more people will be aware of it.
www.systain.ca
Apple has created one of the strongest brands out there in a relatively short amount of time. Products are known to be of sleek modern design, efficient and reliable. Moreover, Apple provides excellent customer service through always kind and knowledgeable staff. Products are accessible as anyone can try them out in the store and see first hand the benefits of having the product.
www.besttechie.net
The recently introduced iPad 2 has created much buzz in the technology world even tough the new features are not all that remarkable. It seems that as long as it carrries the Apple brand, the product will be successful. The big part of Apple’s success is their marketing startegy. Their ads are very informative and are successful at building desire for the product. At this point there isn’t any competitor on the same level as Apple, as they have managed to differentiate themselves quite well from their biggest competitor,Microsoft. As Michelle Wan pointed in her blog post, secrecy of the Apple products plays a huge factor in the amount of interest it generates. Nobody know what it will look like, speculation and hype builds up, people are planning to line up in the wee hours of the morning to get their hands on the product. Also they strategically limit the availability of the product. Limited production may be harmful for many companies as customers may get frustrated and decide to purchase another product from competitor but this does not apply to Apple as in this case, the shortage just generates more buzz. Apple has succeeded at creating such a strong brand in the industry that it seems unstoppable with its continuing expansion of product lines and categories.
www.gizchina.com
**I recently came across a comment made on a youtube video for Apple Ad that sums up perfectly how Apple is everywhere around us:
“I tried to upload a video response I burned to iDVD from iMovie, but couldn’t because my friends don’t have iWeb on their PCs. So after I left iWork, and finished a report on my iPad about my iBook while listening to iTunes with my new iBuds, I tried using my iCam and made a nice iPhoto, but when I tried to transfer it from my iMac to my iPhone- I found I couldn’t because my iLink was broken. I got so mad at iLounge that I threw my iPod & it made an iBrick….What is wrong with my iLife?”
The first time I heard about twitter and its purpose I was a bit unsure why so many people would want to use it, it seemed a bit useless at that time. However, I can say that I have done a complete 180 degree change in regards to this new social media tool and have realized the enormous potential it holds. It is probably the easiest way to get your brand known, and new information about your company or product out. That 140 characters may be small, but it is very powerful. It is very convenient, as updates from family and friends are posted quickly and in a much more condensed form. Twitter is fast, and that is what its advantage is as you are able to find almost everything at one spot, your wall.
thenextweb.com
Popular celebrities have certainly jumped on this new trend and it has brought them much more exposure. They are able to ‘directly’ communicate with the fans, but also to spread their ‘brand’ around. More personal approach equals better relationships and higher degree of trust. One of my favourite ‘twitterers’ is Kelly Oxford, a Calgary based stay at home mom, who rose to twitter stardom with her witty, often sarcastic posts. Jessica Alba, Josh Groban and John Meyer are part of her 90,000 followers, and that number is growing every day. Recently I read, she was hired to write a TV comedy based on her life that was already picked up by CBS. From “her home to Hollywood”, that is the power of the little online bird, the Twitter.
My favourite nail lacquer brad is OPI, so after reading Prianka Dhir’s blog post on OPI ‘Nailed it’, I decided to add my two cents to the discussion on this fantastic brand. As she already mentioned OPI is huge, amounting to over $300 million in sales annually. Needless to say, they are the leader in the market of nail care.
beauyrealm.com
I am amazed at the creativity level they posses and their ability to come up with new products every year.They have a product that is differentiated from their competition by the quality of the formula and the vast selection of colours. Customers remember this brand not only for its quality but also because its nail lacquers have witty names such as ‘Ate Berris in the Canneries’, ‘Van-Couvered In Snow’, and ‘I Don’t do Dishes’ to name a few. Although its main target are females (demographic segmentation), OPI has recognized that we all have different tastes when in comes to colour of the nail lacquer we prefer. They have properly segmented their market, so that they target each group based on their lifestyle or age. OPI offers neutral collections for more mature women/businesswomen, funky bright colours for teens and younger generations, and tons of colours in between so everybody can find their perfect shade. Moreover, they have also segmented geographically by releasing European, Australian, British, South American, Canadian and many more inspired collections.
beauyrealm.com
They understand their market well and as Prianka said show the understanding of cultures around the world through fun way, a diverse nail lacquer colours that represent a small piece of culture. OPI has indeed “nailed it”.
Youtube is huge! Few years ago, it was just another website. Today it is one of the biggest and most visited websites in the world. It has become so popular that it has its own so called ‘youtube celebrities’. From comedians who post hilarious videos to beauty gurus who vlog about makeup to vloggers who record their lives daily. For some of them, doing youtube videos has become their full time job and being a youtube partner pays off big time. Not only do they earn revenues through Google Ads, but also they get sponsored to promote certain products or hired to appear in videos.
www.thenextweb.com
Sponsoring is especially popular for beauty gurus who are contacted by companies asking them to review their products. These beauty gurus develop relationships with their viewers, even become their ‘online’ friends. You might ask yourself, is this marketing tactic really effective? Who is going to listen to these people? I believe it is more effective then the traditional ads on the TV as they are getting internet celebrities to endorse their products for a fraction of the price it would otherwise cost. Moreover, the main factor is that the viewers trust them as they watch their videos religiously and also see them use the product again and again during their makeup tutorials. On one occasion, within the minutes Guess online store sold out of a type of watch a beauty guru by the screen name ‘JuicyStar07’ (Blair Fowler) mentioned in her recent purchase (haul) video. That’s how much influence they have on girls especially teens. The segment below was done by Good Morning America and it perfectly summarizes this new trend that is popular amongst younger generations.
Seeing models in the ads isn’t as common as it used to be. Today, it is all about celebrities. From A-listers to reality show stars celebrities of all kind have endorsement deals with big name companies and many even with less known ones. As assumed, they get paid substantial amount of money and plus receive more exposure to the audience. Years ago, companies realized that the products sold better if there was someone consumers admired standing behind the product and the company.
shoppingblog.com
In the class, we studied the consumer behaviour, and the fact that using identical product as celebrities satisfies that psychological need that most of us crave for. Also, it all leads to the affective component of attitude. We are made to feel special. This is what companies were very well aware of and used it rigorously. But the question is, how effective it really is?
Recently I came across an article written by Peter Daboll named “Celebrities in Advertising are Almost Always a Big Waste of Money” (adage.com) which provides relatively solid evidence that the celebrity endorsements are really just a “big waste of money”. There was a time when they were effective, 5 years ago, but today in the world where social media dominates people are more likely to be “influenced by someone in their social network than a weak celebrity connection”. Furthermore, after studying all the ads for 11 months they found that generally celebrity ads tend to preform just average. (“Fewer than 12% of ads using celebrities exceeded a 10% lift, and one-fifth of celebrity ads had a negative impact on advertising effectiveness.” *)
adage.com
Of course this doesn’t apply to all celebrity ads as some of them enjoy outstanding success, but in the end what really matters is how well the ad is done and if it is able to intrigue the consumer.
* directly quoted from www.adage.com
A large number of people consider TV commercials a nuisance. Many tend to simply change channels whenever it is time for a commercial break. Reasons are many – add isn’t unique, cool, etc.. But there is one time of the year when viewers are actually looking forward to commercials. When there is a buzz around them – during the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl advertising is the high-profile advertising that airs during the biggest sporting event in the United States. Approximately 90 million viewers tune in for this event and there is no better place to advertise but there. In order to gain the attention of the viewers, companies create the most innovative ads just for this event. They do not come cheap though. In 2010, 30 seconds of advertising time cost around US $2.6 million. As assumed only major corporations are able to afford this price tag, and they hire the best of the best in hopes of producing the add that will be the talk of the ‘country’ long after the event. Two of my favourites that have gained quite a lot of attention are the following:
1. Doritos House Rules
This add is very well done and the ‘cute’ factor plays a major part. It is nothing like we have seen before, the boy is adorable, and it is very amusing. Also it appeals to all age groups and it is perfect as people are going to talk about it, word spreads easily and to prove it as of now it has more than 6.7 million views on youtube and over 10,000 comments.
2. Google: Search On
Who doesn’t love a great love story? This add is perfect for Google, it is simple yet very effective as it not only shows the benefits of using Google but also the easiness the search is done with. The cost of making is relatively low and it really does touch the soft spot in all of us.
